Aviators overpower Sliders

Friday

Jul 6, 2018 at 12:01 AM

The rain threatened the start of the game, but it was the Aviators who were the bigger impediment to a Springfield Sliders’ win Thursday.

Lafayette broke open a 1-1 tie with a six-run top of the first en route to a 17-2 win over the Sliders in a Prospect League game at Robin Roberts Stadium. That cushion proved to be more than enough for Aviators starting pitcher Trevor Pittman (1-2).

Sliders manager Steve Leonetti was a man of few words after the game.

“It was just a ballgame,” Leonetti said. “It didn’t go our way.”

Pittman went seven innings, allowed one run on four hits and two walks. He struck out three.

“He’s been really good his last couple of starts,” Lafayette manager Will Arnold said. “Also, it helps he has his teammate (catcher Kevin Dobos) from Kent State back behind the plate. But yeah, he was really good all night.”

Lafayette got its 17 runs on 15 hits and five Springfield errors.

A 51-minute rain delay pushed the first pitch from 6:35 p.m. and past the estimated time of 7 p.m. to 7:26.

The Sliders players, who weren’t dressed for the game as of 6:30, were part of the field crew who helped get the tarp off the field.

Whatever the reason, Springfield shortstop Garet Griffen and second baseman Logan Stephens each committed an error in the top of the first to lead to the Aviators’ first run.

The Sliders tied the game in the bottom of the second when Richard Miller scored on Jacoby Hagenow’s fielder’s choice.

Springfield starter Brooks Gosswein got Jason Cryar to lead off the top of the third with a groundout to third base before Brady Huebbe and Bryce Ball had back-to-back doubles. Matt Patton was hit by a pitch and Dobos loaded the bases with an infield single.

Jordy Libman hit a two-run double and Tyler Powers followed that with a two-run single, giving Lafayette a 6-1 lead.

Powers scored on a two-out single from Zach Heeke.

When asked about the third inning, Leonetti said, “There’s really nothing to say about it. You watched it.”

As did the 312 in attendance.

Meanwhile, the Sliders stranded a runner in each inning from the second through the fifth.

The Sliders now embark on a four-game road trip to Ohio and Pennsylvania. When asked if the impending road trip, and the weather, played a part, Leonetti said, “That shouldn’t be an excuse.”

Lafayette added two runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings. In the seventh, the Aviators added four runs on two hits and two more Springfield errors.

“I’d say we had pretty good at bats for the most part, really all night,” Arnold said. “We hit some balls hard and even the balls we didn’t hit hard still fell through for us.”

The Aviators (12-19) snapped a four-game losing streak, which included a 14-13 loss to Springfield in Indiana on Tuesday.

The Lafayette team bus didn’t arrive at Robin Roberts Stadium until about 6 p.m. It made a detour stop at White Oaks Mall before the game.

“It was 108 (degrees) real feel, so we weren’t going to take BP (batting practice) anyway,” Arnold said. “We walked around the mall for a while just to kind of get off the bus and loosen up the legs a little bit. It’s summer baseball, so we’re going to do things a little different. They’ve taken BP pretty much every day before this. A little break from it’s not a bad thing, especially in the heat.”

The Sliders (17-17) had five hits and left nine runners on base.

“It was just a ballgame. It didn’t go our way,” Leonetti said. “There’s just really not much to say about tonight, to be honest.”

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